Journey On...
by Lauren4
Summary: Everyone needs to connect with someone. Even if it is in their darkest hour. Lindsey/f character


  
  
Lindsey's old truck was never well suited for long trips. Although, a   
long trip in this automobile's case was going over 6 miles of   
distance at 20 mph. It had been a good truck, but it had defiantly   
hit its prime a long time ago, as far as vehicles go.   
  
"God dammit!" Lindsey shouted, as the truck slightly slipping of the   
hinges before resting in its usual spot. He didn't need this   
aggravation. He had just left the best/worst life he could possibly   
have behind him. He was returning to a placstarted to buck and give   
out. He looked ahead to see the glowing sign of a Texaco station   
coming into view. "C'mon. Just a few more yards." The truck lurched   
forward, using every last bit of horsepower it could muster to make   
it every extra foot. But unfortunately, all of the horses were dead.   
  
The car broke down, just as it reached the gas pump. Sputtering and   
smoking, the truck gave out. Lindsey hit the steering wheel with his   
fists. 'Why now?' he thought. 'Of all the times. I was going for a   
dramatic exit.' He climbed the rust colored and rust covered truck   
and slammed the door hard. The door slipped a little, e that he   
wasn't sure he would be able to face again. But from the looks of it,   
he wasn't really going anywhere until his truck decided to live   
again.   
  
He walked to the front hood, opening it revealed a ghostly steam that   
disappeared over Lindsey's head. He jumped back and waved some of the   
stray mist from his face. The engine was shiny with condensation, and   
that what the source of the steam. He reached to touch the surface,   
but the top was burning to the touch. He drew his hand back, blowing   
on it as he watched small red spots appear on the tips of his   
fingers. 'Just have to let it cool.' He thought.  
  
The people at the other gas pumps stared at the Hillbilly making a   
spectacle of himself at the gas station. Most were dressed in   
business and climbed to expensive Mercedes-Benzes or BMWs.   
That was Lindsey at one time, but not anymore, and he damn proud. He   
placed the hose to the gas tank of his truck and put his ATM card in   
the machine. He knew it would probably be the last time he ever used   
the thing. He didn't need Wolfram and Hart tracking him down on this   
little road trip of his.   
  
While he made this unexpected pit stop, he knew he should make the   
best of it. He strolled into the convenience store and headed to the   
back to get a bottle of water, which was to chase a squishy pink   
Snowball, that he go the urge to buy.   
  
"$1.95, please." The cashier said in a completely monotone voice. He   
was a burly man, wearing an old, oil stained employee shirt, adorned   
with name Phil. The crevices of his hands and underneath his nails   
were black from too many dealings with many a bottle of WD-40.   
  
"Thanks, Phil." Lindsey said, cheerfully, which Phil returned with a   
snicker.   
  
A girl, about 17 or 18 was standing behind Lindsey's truck, examining   
the backend. "Is this your truck?" She asked him, never lifting her   
head as her approached her. She was dirty blonde, wearing a pair of   
faded jeans, denim jacket, and a small backpack tossed over her right   
shoulder. Her hair hung down, somewhat straggly, hiding most of her   
face from view.   
  
"Yeah, what about it?" Lindsey asked.  
  
The girl pushed her hair away from her face, revealing a pair of   
hazel eyes, void of almost any emotion, as if the fire that most   
people had in eyes were extinguished in her. Her face was covered   
with a large purple welt that traveled up her on cheekbone. "Someone   
left you a present, cowboy."   
  
Lindsey walked over next to the girl's side. "Cops Suck" was painted   
in huge black letters on a sign that was clinging to his bumper by a   
few pieces of twine. "Angel." Lindsey muttered. He grabbed the sign   
and threw it in the back, making the few objects in the back rumble   
by the disturbance. He turned back to the girl, who was trying to   
hide her amusement of the situation. "Thanks."  
  
"Welcome." She answered back, a small smile appeared across his face.  
  
Lindsey cleared his throat as he studied the girl. She was obviously   
a runaway. Nowhere to go and no one to go with you. Lindsey had been   
in her shoes. He just hoped she didn't end up on the same path as he   
had. He turned away and headed to the hose hanging from his truck,   
removing it from it's resting place and hooking it back to the pump.   
He opened his door and climbed inside and fumbled through his   
pockets, searching for his keys.   
  
"Where are you heading?" A voice asked. The girl had placed her head   
in the passenger side window.  
  
"Uh..." Lindsey searched his memory for the answer to his   
question. "Oklahoma."  
  
"Got any room?" The girl asked, eyeing the empty seat next to   
Lindsey's seat.  
  
"Why? Where are you headed?"   
  
"Anywhere but here."  
  
++++++++++++++++++++  
  
The newly "fixed" pick up roared down the highway. Few cars littered   
the road in during the morning hours, all-retreating home from work   
or just heading off for it. The interior was quiet. Once and a while,   
Lindsey grunted when the truck started to buck from too much gas,   
but other then that, the two people on the inside were silent.  
  
"So," Lindsey cleared his throat before speaking, a force of habit in   
court. "What's your name?"  
  
"Lily." She answered quickly. She seemed to want to get through the   
pleasantries as quickly as possible. After all, all she wanted was a   
ride.  
  
Lindsey nodded. "I'm Lindsey."   
  
The truck grew silent again. The headlights flashed in the front,   
illuminating the slick road as the sun started to ride over the   
horizon. "You Are Now Leaving Los Angeles" a sign read   
ahead of them. As they passed the sign, Lily let out a very auditable   
sigh of relief. But silence took over again. Lindsey reached over and   
fumbled with the old radio in the dashboard. Several stations of   
static and newscasts echoed throughout the old automobile. At this   
point, he was looking for anything that would break the silence. He   
found a song, after about 30 seconds of searching.   
  
"Now that she's back in the atmosphere  
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey  
She acts like summer and walks like rain  
Reminds me that there's time to change, hey, hey  
Since the return from her stay on the moon  
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey"  
  
"What's your story?" Lily asked.   
  
"Huh?" Lindsey's concentration taken away from the road and radio.  
  
"Why are you leaving? You got to have a reason. Everyone has to have   
a reason for leaving the City of Angels." Lily said. Her voice was   
high, but she seemed to speak quieter, as if she might wake someone   
if she spoke up.  
  
"Tell me did you sail across the sun  
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded  
And that heaven is overrated  
Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star  
One without a permanent scar  
And did you miss me while you were looking at yourself out there   
  
"I guess..." Lindsey paused. He had to think of something. Of course   
he knew why he left. He left because if he didn't his life would be   
in danger, whether he had an "evil hand" or not. But he couldn't tell   
her about it. He couldn't tell anyone. They wouldn't understand. They   
shouldn't understand. "I guess I just couldn't stand it anymore. The   
lies, the phoniness. The city can change you, and mine was defiantly   
not for the better."  
  
Now that she's back from that soul vacation  
Tracing her way through the constellation, hey, hey  
She checks out Mozart while she does tae-bo  
Reminds me that there's time to grow, hey, hey  
Now that she's back in the atmosphere  
I'm afraid that she might think of me as plain ol' Jane  
Told a story about a man who is too afraid to fly   
he never did land   
  
Lily didn't bother to go into further interrogation, but nodded in   
understanding. If he didn't want to tell her details, he didn't have   
to. The silence refused to seize between the two passengers.  
  
Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet  
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day  
And head back to the Milky Way  
And tell me, did Venus blow your mind  
Was it everything you wanted to find  
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there   
  
"What about you? Why are you leaving?" Lindsey asked.  
  
"Oh." The question had caught her by surprise. "No reason."  
  
"C'mon." Lindsey pushed. "You have to have reason. You said everyone   
has a reason for leaving."  
  
  
Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken  
Your best friend always sticking up for you even   
when I know you're wrong  
Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance   
five-hour phone conversation  
The best soy latte that you ever had . . . and me   
  
Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet  
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day  
And head back toward the Milky Way   
  
"I don't know. I guess I needed a change of pace. To escape for   
awhile." She lied. She knew exactly while she leaving the place she   
had called home most of her life. But she didn't want to share. All   
she wanted was a ride, she kept telling herself. She wasn't there to   
make a travel buddy. She just needed to get away, from the City of   
Angels. But these days, it seemed to carry more demons then angels.  
  
Tell me did you sail across the sun  
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded  
And that heaven is overrated  
  
Her stomach grumbled. She was so hungry. She hadn't eaten for two   
days and leaving on short notice doesn't give you much time to pack a   
lunch.  
  
Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star  
One without a permanent scar  
And did you miss me while you were looking at yourself out there   
  
"Are you okay?" Lindsey asked.  
  
"Yeah. I'm fine."  
  
++++++++++++++++++  
  
The morning sun was already high in the sky when Lily woke up. She   
lifted her head from her crumbled up jacket and squinted at the   
bright light. She stretched slightly and took a deep breath, her   
nostrils filling with a wonderful smell. 'FOOD!'  
  
"Good morning." Lindsey said. From the way he was speaking, it was   
obvious that his mouth was full. Lily whipped her head around to see   
a McDonald's bag next her and two coffees in the cup holder, one of   
them open. "That's yours." Lindsey indicated the bag, with what was   
left of his breakfast sandwich. "I wasn't sure what you wanted 'cause   
I didn't want to wake you, so I just ordered what ever I saw first."  
  
Lily stared at the bag for moment, as if were the Holy Grail. He   
grabbed the bag and held it close to her chest, allowing the smell   
waft through the air around her. She dove inside her hand trying to   
locate the first edible item. She found the hashbrown and pulled it   
out, breaking off small pieces and popping them into her mouth. Her   
stomach gurgled at the entrance of food, but soon it subsided and   
Lily continued to eat her food. After devouring the hash   
brown, she moved to her bagel sandwich, hidden under a few layers of   
napkins.  
  
"Thank you." She said, her mouth stuffed to capacity.  
  
"Your welcome." Lindsey replied, as he took his cup of coffee and   
took a sip, doing his best to   
avoid bumps in the road.  
  
+++++++++++++++++  
  
"Thanks again. You really didn't have to do that." Lily said, wiping   
her mouth with one of the napkins. "But thanks."  
  
"I wanted to. It was obvious that you were hungry."  
  
"How could you tell?" She asked, half joking.  
  
"Besides your stomach going 'glug-glug-glug'." He joked back, a small   
smile sprouting across his face.   
  
The familiar air of silence filled the truck once again. The truck   
passed the state line from California to Nevada almost an hour   
ago. 'Not much farther now.' Lindsey said to himself. Another day or   
two and he would be back on his doorstep, returning to everything he   
left behind   
years ago.   
  
Lily fidgeted in her seat. She kept scratching her head and staring   
out the window, as if she would find an answer to something out   
there. "Do you want to know why I left?" She finally blurted out. She   
raised her hand, clasping her mouth, in hopes of catching the words   
before Lindsey could understand them.  
  
"Only if you want to tell me." He answered frankly. She did. She   
needed to talk to someone.   
  
Lily swallowed, trying hard to calm herself down. "My dad. He's dead.   
And my mom married again. This guy's really a jerk. He's always   
yelling at my mom. He's saying she's worthless and that she wasted   
her life having kids." Lily's hands started to tremble as the   
thoughts filled her mind. "He was hurting me and my   
brother...and...he would push us." Lily's eyes started to well with   
tears. She never cried or, at least she never had let her stepfather   
see her. Crying was weak, and she wasn't weak. "Last week, he,   
um...he pushed my brother down the stairs. And now   
he's...he's in the hospital...in a coma." A few stray tears ran down   
her face. "I didn't want to leave my brother, Lindsey." She turned   
towards him, the fire in her eyes still missing. "But he was going to   
do something to me too if I didn't." She held her head in her hands,   
letting out a loud cry. "I didn't want to leave him."  
  
Lindsey pulled over to the side of the highway, kicking up dirt as   
they stopped. He tried to place a comforting hand on her   
shoulder. "Don't touch me!" She yelled, batting away his hand.   
That's when he could see her arm fully. It was covered in small   
bruises and scars all the way up until her arm disappeared under her   
shirt.  
  
"I had to go." She repeated. "I left the minute they went to visit   
him in the hospital. I just ran away. And I can't stop now. They'll   
find me. I can't over go back." Tears fell again and splattered into   
tiny puddles on the floor.  
  
Lindsey, although he tried to deny it, knew exactly what she was   
going through. His family hadn't exactly been the best known for   
family togetherness when he still lived with them. He   
knew what it was like to be worried about your family when ever your   
not around. He also knew what pain it was to leave them behind, even   
if you didn't want to.  
  
"I had to go." She fell into a ball on the seat and leaned against   
Lindsey's chest. "I had to get away." Lindsey held her close, trying   
his best to comfort the distraught girl sitting in his truck.  
  
++++++++++++++++  
  
"Lily, you don't have to go yet. I still have a way to go. You can   
still ride." Lindsey pleaded. Lily stepped out of the truck, trying   
to gather her stuff together. They stopped at the state line of   
Nevada and New Mexico later that night, in her hopes to find a ride   
out East. Lindsey knew she didn't want to leave in way, and he almost   
found himself not wanting to leave.  
  
"I have to go, Lindsey." She stuffed the left over food in the   
McDonald's bag into her backpack and put her jacket over her bruise-  
covered arms. "Thank you." She reached in the truck and put   
her hand over his new one. "For everything. I'll never forget you."  
  
Lindsey placed his other hand over hers. "Your welcome." She pulled   
her arm away and slammed the door, making it slightly slip off the   
hinges and walking towards the building. "Be careful, Lily." He   
called after her. She turned and smiled, wavering her to him. He   
started his truck again, hearing it sputter and buck against the gas   
pedal. He held up his hand in a final wave and pulled away onto the   
highway.  
  
Maybe nothing was really gained from his experience. Maybe all it did   
was set him back a day from his destination, but he made a   
connection. The first one he had made in a long time.   



End file.
